


drowning in darkness, and you are the light

by littlesciencebabies (readaholic2200)



Series: Tumblr Prompts [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Near Future, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 10:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3377387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readaholic2200/pseuds/littlesciencebabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The same nightmare had plagued Jemma’s sleep for almost two full years, and by now, she had gotten used to it. She had gotten used to waking up at 4am, heart pounding in her ears, a thin sheer of sweat on her forehead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	drowning in darkness, and you are the light

It was those damn nightmares again.

The same nightmare had plagued Jemma’s sleep for almost two full years, and by now, she had gotten used to it. She had gotten used to waking up at 4am, heart pounding in her ears, a thin sheer of sweat on her forehead. She had gotten so used to it that it was unusual if she didn’t remember dreaming anything or actually had a pleasant dream.

The nightmare went like this:

Darkness, surrounding her, enclosing around her. She can’t breathe. Her lungs are holding on to every single morsel of air they can get their hands on before the darkness crushes it. There’s a light. Fitz is in the light. He’s reaching for her. She tries with all her might to grab his hand but they just don’t reach. The darkness consumes her.

Then she wakes up.

After two years (which just so happened to be the time Fitz and her started officially “dating”, if they could even call it that), the nightmares happened even less. Maybe she had finally gotten over the fear that was causing it. Or maybe it was because every night, she fell asleep next to the man who loved her unconditionally and always made her feel safe, even in her weakest moments.

It was probably the second one.

Then, something changed.

It was supposed to be a normal night like any other. Jemma and Fitz clambered into their bed, kissed each other goodnight, turned the light off, and fell asleep. Jemma had figured since she hadn’t had any bad nightmares in months that it meant they were all gone.

Boy, was she wrong.

The nightmare started off disguised as a dream. Her and Fitz were on a date – nothing too fancy, just them sitting at a coffeeshop, drinking tea, and just enjoying each other’s company. He was making a joke, she was laughing at it so hard that her tea almost went flying out of her mouth. Then, they both spent a good few minutes laughing at _that_.

The laughter died down and they both stared into each other’s eyes as if they were the most beautiful things the other has ever seen – and it was. Jemma leaning across the table, ready to kiss him and—

_BANG_

Her head hit ice cold glass. She opened her eyes and saw Fitz on the other side of the glass, crying, pounding the glass with all his might, trying to break it open. Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, wondering why Fitz was so desperate.

Oh, she was in the med pod, about to be ejected.

Jemma was about to rush towards the door, to pry it open with her bare hands, to get out of there by any means possible.

Then, it falls.

She’s falling and all she can see is Fitz reaching out for her, still safe in the plane, and all she can hear is his distant yells of, “JEMMA!” over and over and over again.

And then something completely terrifying – and really quite inaccurate, but hey, it _was_ a dream – happened.

Just as the pod hit the water, the supposed “bulletproof” glass broke. Water was rushing in, and all her efforts to swim were fruitless. No matter how hard she swum, she wouldn’t move an inch.

Darkness encapsulated her. But this time, there was no Fitz standing in the light ready to save her. It was just her and the darkness and—

She jolted up in her bed, covered entirely in sweat.

Jemma looked over at Fitz, sleeping soundly. She swears he could sleep through an atomic bomb without even trying.

A sob completely wracked her body, her hands trembling. Her trembling and sobs, no matter how much she tried to prevent them, woke Fitz up.

“J’ma?” he said groggily, still half-asleep. Once it registered in his mind that she was crying –very hard at that – he immediately shot straight up, wrapping his arms around her torso.

“Jemma, what’s wrong?” he comforted.

“Bad—dream,” she cried between sobs.

“I thought you didn’t have those anymore.”

“Came—back.” Her tears were large and hot as they ran down her face.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Fitz asked, wiping the tears off her cheeks gently.

That one act calmed Jemma down enough to splutter out a brief explanation of her nightmare.

Throughout the recanting of her dream, her sobs would start to get more violent, and every time, Fitz would place gentle kisses on her face, patiently waiting until she calmed down to continue.

By the end of it, she was a mess. No matter how many comforting kisses Fitz placed on her, she couldn’t shake the feeling of darkness around her, drowning her. And that’s what terrified her the most. In those other nightmares, at least there was a light to remember the goodness, to give her a sense of false hope. But in this one, no light, just darkness all around her, choking her, squeezing the air from her lungs. No hope left.

Despite her trembling body and shaking hands, Fitz continued to hold onto her, reminding her that he was there. Fitz was her light. And now, she was surrounded by him, her light.

“Jemma, it’ll be okay,” he murmured. “I’ll never let you go.”

And she knew he wouldn’t.


End file.
